Hansel y los jardines del Edén
2012 · 12m · España
Directed by Juanfra López
Genres: coming-of-age, drama, sci-fi
Tones: contemplative, dark, mythic
In a post-apocalyptic future where humanity lives under a relentless tyranny, a boy named Hansel discovers he has a gift that makes him different from everyone else.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
The premise screams YA dystopia—chosen one, special powers, tyranny—but López seems genuinely uninterested in the usual rebellion beats; instead he's made something mythic and elliptical that refuses to earn its catharsis, which is either pretentious or brilliant, and I'm still not sure which.
A formally considered reimagining of the Hansel tale through a sci-fi lens that respects both the fairy-tale tradition and the structural rigor of contemporary short form; the dark, contemplative tone suggests influence from Eastern European cinema while remaining distinctly its own.
The decision to keep the boy's 'gift' visually understated—never explicit, always suggested through editing and sound design rather than spectacle—is what makes this work on a 12-minute budget; that restraint does more narrative heavy lifting than any VFX flourish could.